4 things you need to know about social entrepreneurship

Before Jesse Williams’ woke speech and Kendrick and Beyonce’s performance at the BET awards, there has been a growing consciousness around business. Maybe like myself, you have been wondering about social entrepreneurship, a growing field in its right that is gaining gang attention.

It has been hard for many to pinpoint exactly what a social entrepreneur is. However, there some things you can look at to be able to know the kind of business you are and if you stand a chance at being a social enterprise.

It’s about people

Social entrepreneurs, beyond the glory of coming up with an amazing product and service, are highly inspired by the people they are trying to assist. Their products and cutting edge solutions are a response to problematic issues in society no matter the sector.

It is almost like having the heart of Mother Theresa but the drive of Oprah. Outside just trying to get that paper, social entrepreneurs ensure that they meet the needs and improve communities in the same vein.

These businesses are motivated primarily by caring about social change and reaching as many people as possible.

It’s about innovation

Social innovators are always looking for solutions to pressing societal issues . As a result, they have to come up with new, sustainable and inventive ways to respond to these issues. Social enterprises move past the textbook responses and find ways to help people and these solutions should be long term.

If people need food, a social entrepreneur won’t be thinking about giving out handouts but also about training them to have their own eco-friendly gardens so they could grow their own produce whilst protecting their environment.

Ladies, you don’t have to be Florence Nightingale. But you can look for opportunities or approaches that have not yet been adopted in your market and implement them at home, hashtag thinking globally, acting locally.

It’s about collaboration

It just makes sense to do it with a squad. Social entrepreneurs not only build strong connections with people but also with other companies, entities or individuals to reach a greater number of individuals.

Some social entrepreneurs are purely not for profit and so have to think outside of the box to ensure they are making waves in the community. This can’t be done alone. You have to look at others who might have the expertise to take your efforts further so you can get in formation.

It’s about passion

It would be awesome to help people, get cheddar and change lives. Yet it will be hard if you are not actually passionate about people or the solution you are trying to build. Social entrepreneurs are both community conscious and business savvy. So, you are bound to face challenges and constantly develop new ways to improve your enterprise.

If you are not really into it, you are likely going to harm the people you are trying to save. So, if you know you care about business and driving social change concurrently more than pizza, you probably are a Motherland Mogul and a social entrepreneur.

Lesego Barona Otlhabanye is in Microfinance at the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency, a development bank giving funding to start ups and SMMEs. She is Head of Communications at the Global Shapers Community Hub, an initiative by the World Economic Forum and a writer. She is the founder of a faith based blog called Rising Tswana, which is a creative platform for African writers and others to share their stories and journeys and thoroughly loves meat.